I'm not sure which is more enjoyable: coming home to dinner cooking and the kitchen smelling like a chef has been slaving away all day, or dipping corn bread into a warm bowl of chili bite after bite, and watching the snow float to the ground through a window.

This chili recipe is becoming a regular in our household. It's the kind of dish you want to serve yourself when the night is cold and a sofa with a pile of blankets awaits. It's the kind of dish you serve to guests for the first wintery game night of the season, or the first scary movie of October.

With chipotle peppers in adobo, this chili is a "solid medium," at least that's what about four of my friends told me after they were about half way through their bowls. It's not a chili for those that can't handle the heat, but it's not going to light your mouth on fire (to me, this means I'll still be able to enjoy eating it--I can palette spicy food, but when it comes to a meal I'd really rather just sit back and taste it).

This dish feels superbly fall-like to me: summer produce, like tomatoes and chili peppers, meet winter produce, like sweet potatoes. It's a dish to serve when the weather just starts to turn, and you pull out your first sweater, but nothing is stopping you from cooking it through out the winter, too. If we were football watchers, this would be our football dinner. (We're not.)

For a strictly Paleo version of this chili you'll have to skip the black beans. You can experiment with adding something in their place, but it's not necessary. Instead of cheese on top, serve bowls with slices of avocado. (Ok, the avocado thing sounds like a really good idea all around, so I'm going to go ahead and say everyone should do this, regardless of cheese consumption).

Chipotle Bison & Sweet Potato Chili

Published October 24, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6 | Total Time: 20 active minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound ground bison
4 ounces chipotle adobo sauce
1 sweet potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño, deseeded and minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon coriander
Salt & pepper
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups bone broth
Optional garnish: cilantro, shredded cheese, and sliced jalapeños

Directions:

Add all ingredients to your slow cooker and stir, breaking meat into small crumbles. Set to “medium” setting, and set timer to 8 hours.
After 8 hours, serve in bowls. Garnish with cheese, minced cilantro, and sliced jalapeños.

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